The addition of foaming agents and additives to firefighting water streams can be particularly useful for fighting fires, for example, fires in office buildings, industrial factories, chemical plants, petrochemical plants and petroleum refineries. The use of compressed air firefighting foam requires that air and a foam concentrate be mixed and added at constant proportions to the water stream. When the foam extinguisher solution is delivered, the foam effectively extinguishes the flames of chemical and petroleum fires, which would not be effectively extinguished by the application of water alone.
Compressed air foam technology improves the firefighting capacity of water and foam chemicals by producing a higher energy stream that penetrates the fire and by producing a higher quality foam bubble structure than is obtainable by other methods. The size of the compressed air foam bubble can be varied by controlling the ratio of compressed air to foam solution. Further, compressed air foam lines are lighter than water lines and place less stress on the firefighters and allow a greater degree of mobility. This facilitates reduced water damage, quicker fire knockdown, and a “safer” environment for both the firefighters and potential victims. Moreover, the compressed air foam will reduce the associated smoke damage by absorbing smoke from the air.
However, current compressed air foam systems are not applicable to being transported to space restricted areas or to be permanently fixed in space restricted areas.
What is needed is a firefighting station that is applicable to space restricted areas and can utilize existing pressurized air and water infrastructures.